Guide · the evidence standard
Amazon's system grades your return by its records. Your only counterweight is records of your own — and they exist on a ladder, from the document that wins cases alone to the ones that only help in combination. This guide is the ladder, plus the part nobody tells you: most of these documents can still be recovered after you threw the original away.
| Document | What it proves | Where it still exists |
|---|---|---|
| Drop-off receipt with package weight | A real item, of a stated weight, entered the carrier's hands on a stated date. Kills "empty box"; anchors "wrong item" and re-charge fights. | The drop-off location (UPS Store, Whole Foods, Kohl's) can often look up or reprint; your carrier account/email may hold a copy. |
| Tracking history | The package's journey and delivery to Amazon's facility, timestamped by the carrier. | Carrier tracking pages and your Amazon return confirmation email. Screenshot them today — carrier detail ages out. |
| Serial-number record | The exact unit you owned is the unit at issue — identity, not just weight. | Photos of the device/about screen, the product box, manufacturer registration, the maker's app. |
| Packing photos / video | What went into the box, its condition, the label on it. | Your phone's photo library (check the date), a household member's phone, cloud backups. |
| Order & return records | The timeline spine every letter is built on: order date, return started, refund promised, decision made. | Your Amazon order history and email archive — download them before any account closure cuts access. |
| Gift-card receipts + the physical cards | For balance fights: the cards were bought legitimately, from a real retailer, by you. | The retailer's reprint, your bank statement showing the purchase, the cards themselves — photograph claim codes. |
Not sure which fight you're in? The free checker sorts it in four picks — what happened, the proof you hold, one date — and gives you your door, your steps, your deadlines, and an honest grade of your case. Run the checker →
The pages above are the map. The kit is the paperwork: letters structured around your proof, the evidence pack, and the trackers that keep every deadline visible.
One payment, yours to keep. We never ask for your Amazon login — you send everything yourself. See everything inside the kit →